Two-Way Radios Reviews

I recently bought one of these radios for my semi tractor. I immediately fell in love with the backlit controls. Years ago, I owned the Cobra version of this radio, but I didn't like it as much as this one. The controls are laid out very logically and have a nice feel. The Delta tune has a center detent for "eyes free" operation as you drive. The weather channels are a welcome addition to a long drive, keeping you informed of changing and/or severe weather ahead. The only things I didn't care that much for are the Dynamic Squelch feature and the front mic connector. DSC doesn't seem to work too well, but I drive with the squelch off (to hear distant signals), so this doesn't detract from an otherwise great radio. Having owned various Cobras, Galaxies, and other "big" radios, I can honestly say I like the Uniden PC78LTW the best.

These radios have some great features like the automatic shut-off, but ultimately the sound quality is not that much better than the lower-end Motorola models. The voice scrambler is useless, it ends up making your voice sound like a robot.

I got mine from Office Depot for about the same price as the lower end T5300 series using a combination of store and manufacturer coupons. Otherwise, I'm not sure they'd be worth the extra money.

I bought one pair from BestBuy last month and tested them while taking a trip in Maine. FRS chanels works OK (good sound quality) but only gave me 1.5 mile in seashore area! GMRS channels disappointed me by merely 2.5 miles on open highway and 2.0 mile in the woods. But my friends were quite impressed by the looks and features. I accdently drop one to the rock from 6 feet height and you know what?-- not even a den--I considered myself lucky. In short, it looks better than it 'souds'...
They were returned to BestBuy for refund!
With license fee paid, I bought a pair of Midland G11C2. they are lightweighted/easyhandled, less fansy features but at least gave me 3 to 4 miles distance in a driving car and almost five miles at Jersey shores, though consuming battery fast. I think I will stay with them for a while before better models come out.

I started back when there was only one channel in FRS. I bought two radios from Radio Shack, they were the best of the whole bunch, but the dog chewed off the antennas one day. Ever since then I have not found a decent replacement. I bought other radios but had issues with them all. The good thing about these 6400's over other radios I have owned:
-rechargable batteries save a lot of $$$
-rubberized trim for protection
-auto-off to save batteries
-call beeps, we use them as "code"

-large display
-good size belt click with no need for a case
-the dog doesn't like the taste of these antennas. :>

I have two of these, I am buying a third for guests. I found the best radio!

I just purchased these radios before a recent family vacation in Kamloops, B.C.. I was interested to see how far these would transmit according to their "12 Mile" posted distance. And let me tell you, I got at LEAST 9 miles out of them, and the obstruction was a MOUNTAIN! We were on a hill, over looking the town, and the other radio was well across the valley, around the side of a mountain, and a few more miles out. Clarity was amazing, never having to ask, "Can you repeat that, please?", or ,"Come again?". These communicators are definitely worth the buck. The only downfall I see is that the charging LED is on the wall adapter, rather than the cradel, but thaat's nothing! Overall a great buy, and great while hiking or hunting.

These radios sound great. The range is ok. I have another radio that claims to have 14 mile range and these will broadcast farther than the 14 mile radio. However the range is no where near the 12 miles they advertise. They are a little big but I think they might be less likely to be lost because of their size. Belt clip is good. There have plenty of features and options. I kind of wish they had the digital compass though. These are the best 2 way radios I've owner so far.

I recently took these cross country through the desert, and I found these SX700Rs to be very reliable. In open landscapes such as the Sonora Desert or throughout Texas, these radios provide very crisp sound with no static. In a week of continual heavy usage, I never once picked up stray radio signals from other devices. Within large cities where there is a lot of concrete and steel construction a lot of radio signals, the effective range drops; however I was able to stay in contact with my driving partner providing we were at least within eyesight of each other.

The kit comes with two communicators, a hands-free clip that I haven't tested, two chargers, two AAA battery packs, and two belt clips. The radios aren't very heavy at all despite being larger. Each radio still fits easily into an adult's hand. The belt clip is sturdy; however, the radio doesn't locked into the clip very well. They have a tendency to slip out of the clips as you bend over.

The battery life is pretty good. A fully charged battery pack lasted me over 12 hours of intermittant use with the radios continually powered on. On the upside, with radios using a AAA batteries, if you do run out of charge and do not have access to the charging base, you can substitute 4 AAA batteries.

the fr50 is a good radio if other people around are not using frs radios. because it does not have any sub channals it is hard to find a clear channal in a buzy area. it also does not have a scan feature. i think getting the fr60 would be a better choice.

It's pretty durable (we drop them quite a lot at work and they keep on a working), simple to use (the more expensive ones have all those options you never use), OK range (2 miles real world or inside a factory), OK battery (the rechargeable batteries we use usually last an entire shift if we don't transmit that much), and it's CHEAP!!! Much cheaper than those other radios with the SAME wattage.

I'm only writing this because it's a pretty good way to keep in touch with my five year old daughter and three year old son when they are out and about the neighborhood. It's simple enough for my son and daughter to use. I don't let my son take one much because I know he'll lose it.

Final thoughts: This is the only radio I would buy because the more expensive ones are just a waste of money in most cases.

Perfect radio for going to anywhere in two miles.Great for bike riding or just taking a walk.

There is a license required for GMRS radios. It is $75. Funny how the merchants don't tell you that. Perhaps because of the "extra" cost? By the way... the fine for unlicensed operation of these radios is up to $10,000.

I have found the COBRA PR 4000 one of the best radios I have ever used. It has great range and many features. It is well built and easy to use.

I would highly recommend this radio.

My family have owned four of the PR-4000 radios for almost year, and just purchased a PR-4250. They have consistently outperformed every other radio we have tried in the middle area of the market. The battery life on NiMh batteries is amazing. We have sometimes monitored our usual channel and CTCSS pair sometimes for two to three days at a time, including periodic usage!

As for the range, we get a range consistent with an urban use of a UHF transceiver with 3 watt output, and the receiver sensitivity described int the manual. (The switchable 3,2,.5 power output is much appreciated--especially when communicating with other radios using less power.)

Do not expect the seven or ten miles promised on the package. But this is true for any UHF handheld. I think the only way to get that would be for both parties to be on open water and climb the masts on their sailboats... (I really do wish the manufacturers would stop these milage claims.)

So far, these are the best for the money we have found.

Not good for car to car talk on highway at highway speeds. Distortion due to the speed of the vehicles.
Good for hiking and backpacking.
They work better the further away from eletrical interference you get.
Rating of 2 miles is for little inteference. In a shopping center there is A LOT of interference!

I mainly use FRS radios with a Law Enfocement Group in Hawaii, and it works great! I have been using these radios for about 3 months now, and they work perfectly with other brands of radios (a Motorola Talkabout w/ headset, and a pair of Audiovox with only 14 channels). The only complaint I have with this radios is that the call and menu button are using the same button. If I want to change channels, I have to press the menu button down for a long time, and if I forgot about that, then I send out a call message. Also, the vibrating feature isn't great, even with strong batteries.

These Uniden FRS radios are great. My friend spent about three times as much for a pair of Motorola radios, and they lack some of the features included on the Unidens.

I really like the different call alert tones and the ability to use a vibrating alert. The carabiner clips are nice for attaching the radios to you belt loops or the straps on a backpack.

Overall, I think these are great radios for the price. You can spend a lot more, but you're not going to get any more features or better performance.

I've been a user of professional level 2 way radios for years in the wildland firefighting world, and I can tell you that some of the abuse that I've subjected my vtech to has killed $800 bendix king and motorola radios in the past. Ex: repeated drops from 6 ft onto pavement (really!). Now, I'm not going to recommend this, but hey, a few bumps or dumps into the snow ;) probably won't hurt these little units. Most all of these radios will have the same range - they are all operating on the same frequency with the maximum allowed output wattage. An additional function the radio has: not listed on the manual or handy stick-on cheat sheet is the "monitor" or "open squelch" feature. If your friend is coming in scratchy or breaking out, press and hold the "mode button". This will add some background scratchyness, but may allow you to hear the weak signal. You may also use this function to listen in on transmissions happening on your frequency on a different privacy code. Final note: these things are so small and light that my friend clips his onto his shirt collar for our mountain bike rides! I don't know why anyone would buy a different radio (other than occasional unavailability from Amazon. They're worth the wait - there are about 12 of these in my circle of friends - we've used them EXTENSIVELY in the last six months rockclimbing, roadtripping, mt.biking in Tahoe, BC skiing, shopping costco ;( , etc... with no probs. Enjoy! Definately nerdy at first, but highly handy!

I bought 6 of these radios, 4 for gifts and a pair for me and my wife. We have used them in local malls and they work very well across the mall. The clarity of sound is very good. I do notice that you have to put your mouth very near to the radio for good voice pickup... any further than a few inches reduces pickup notably. The basic features of the radio are easy to use, but the advanced features require multiple keypresses along with turning the radio on or off. Those advanced features (key lock, backlight timer, scan etc) will not be used much since they are annoying to program. We just set the channel/CTSS and keep the key lock on for foolproof operation.

I bought these for my husband as a Christmas gift but I have already used them more than he has. These are a nice, small size for carrying in a purse or even in a jacket pocket. They are also really easy to use; even children could use them. These have lots of channels and privacy codes so you can even set them to work with several other radios. We just used them in Las Vegas when everyone wanted to be in a different place. We each took a different radio (some of them were even other brands) and we just tuned ourselves into the same channel and we kept in touch nicely, inside and out! The only thing I don't like about this radio is that it does not have a call button so you can't alert the person on the other end first.

Purchased Cobra 75 WX ST All-in-handset Mobile CB about 1 year ago. Easy installation, up-front controls, very convenient. Six months after installation speaker in mike failed, could only get sound through external speaker, using external jack. Repair shop said it would cost almost as much to fix as the unit cost.

I have installed this CB in three vehicles over the past three years.

2002 Jeep: survived Moab in a Jeep with no top for five days!
2004 Dakota: survived Hurricane Rita's attack on my Dakota. I found the cb on the floor of my cab soaking wet. I turned it on and used it for the next two weeks to coordinate ice delivery shipments from I-10 truckers.
2005 Jeep: the CB is now mounted on the dash right above the steering wheel. I can see signal strength and scan without taking my eyes off the road.

The best feature of this cb is the small control box. I have the box mounted behind my Jeep's glove compartment. I easily ran the mic wiring just above the gas pedal and used the mounting bracket to place the CB in it's aforementioned location.

I already knew the quality of this unit. The purchase was easy and delivered sooner than promised.

I purchased this 2-way radio to use in my office. I need the 38 CTCSS subcodes per channel, since we are near a highway and frequently get interference from other users. Though Amazon.com indicated this unit had this capability, it did not. I now must go to the trouble of returning it. I would not have ordered this 2-way radio if representation of this product's features were correct.

We purchased a large quantity of these radios to use in conjunction with our business. The radios work well, but have a failure rate that seems a little high (appx. 10%) - but the company was very good honoring the warranty - they immediatley replaced our defective radios with new ones.

We received a set of these radios today from my Mother-in-Law. She got them free after rebate. We just tried them out with my wife and I inside the house and my daughter was able to communicate clearly from appx. six blocks away. We live roughly a mile from a lake, so we will try them out there while fishing: boat to shore, shore to shore, etc. So far, I am very impressed. The signal has been clear. The radios are small, easy to use and really amazing, especially for free!! It's going to be much easier to keep tabs with our 11-year-old when she's out in the neighborhood, at the mall, the lake, etc.

"The service from this vendor is horrible. My account was charged in May of this year and as of 6/26/06 have not received anything. First they said they need to make a model change. I was fine with the model change but never got the product. I sent many...notes to Nicholas Nasti but he has been unable to fix the problem. Recently I have been unable to contact them with notes or telephone."

I just purchased these in part due to the relatively decent reviews and for the rechargeable aspect, features and brand-name. Took them out to test and really not pleased with the performance. In Florida so mountains and hills are not a major influence in the performance evalution. Also, it was perfect weather. I'm not in an area with high rise buildings, rather outside of town in a mostly residential area. At one mile they began crackling severely with static. At just over a mile-they became non-audible...only the call feature worked. By 1.5 miles-forget it. Full charge, no mountains, no hills, no tall buildings, nothing but a few tree's. Now, I did NOT expect anything near the claimed 14 miles, not even half that. I did expect somewhere between 2-4 mile range in perfect weather...nowhere even near it. On the other hand, the rechargeable aspect is nice, the car adaptor is a great little touch but for the price difference-they barely outperformed the $20 set I purchased as toys for my neice/nephew. Disappointing

These radios rock.
I've been reading all the reviews of different radios for sale and have seen that most radios get .5 to 1.5 mile range max.
Well I put these radios to the test and set one on vox mode to trasmit automatically when exposed to voice. Specifically, I put one radio next to my tv and tuned to the weather channel as they do the most talking (no pun intended...lol).
I then drove off and set my trip meter to zero on my car. Drove in pretty much a straight line on a major street near my house.
Hoping for at least a 1.5 mile range, I was blown away when the radio finally dropped off after 4.2 miles from home.
Not flat land either. Two overpasses, a large forest preserve, numerous homes and buildings and 3 small hills!
Get these radios! You won't regret it!!!